Thursday, July 24, 2008

Several fine dingos have been kept in various zoological gardens in this country, those in Washington being especially typical and well conditioned.

The dingo is the most doglike of any of the wild members of the canine group, and the fact that they interbreed freely and produce regularly fertile progeny is further evidence of its proximity to the dogs of mankind.

He is a medium-sized animal, weighing 60 to 80 pounds, possessing all the dog's traits of character and of physique. He has a broad head, moderate-pointed ears, strong, well- boned legs, and a deep chest, which fit him for the long chase. His one wolfy characteristic is the quite bushy tail, which is about half-way between what a dog of similar coat would carry and the brush of a wolf.

Dingos untinctured by dog blood are self- colored red or tawny and are very fine-looking animals. They are said to be readily tamable, and those the artist has known were as tame and companionable as any dog. They would come to the bars of their inclosure, ears back and tails wagging, and lick the hand of their keeper, and did the same for the artist if the keeper was present. Never having tried to force friendship nor made advances when alone, it is impossible for the writer to say how catholic their tolerance was.

From The Book of Dogs: An Intimate Study of Mankind's Best Friend By National Geographic Society (U.S.), Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Ernest Harold Baynes Published 1919. 109 pages Original from Harvard University.

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